BOL, ATG, CDTFA, IFTA: plain-English definitions.

An underground sensor stack (Veeder-Root TLS, Gilbarco) that reports real-time tank levels, temperature, water detection, and inventory. EPA leak detection requires it, and it is the canonical input for fuel reconciliation.

Why it matters.Without ATG, fuel reconciliation comes down to trusting the BOL, trusting the POS, and hoping. ATG adds a third data point that confirms wet-stock loss.

A document that accompanies each fuel delivery and lists volume per grade. The carrier issues it, the receiver signs it. The BOL is the source of truth for what was actually delivered before the tank takes it.

Why it matters.BOL volume should match tank fill (ATG) and POS sales (totalizer). When the three disagree, you have wet-stock loss.

The California agency that collects sales tax, fuel excise tax, and other state-level fees. Gas stations file monthly or quarterly depending on revenue, covering inside-store sales tax and fuel excise.

Why it matters.Manual CDTFA filing is hours of spreadsheet work each period. A back office that auto-formats the filing pack saves time and reduces audit risk.

A delivery model where vendors (Core-Mark, Eby-Brown, Pepsi) drop product at the store instead of routing through a warehouse. Each delivery comes with an invoice you need to ingest, line-match, and post.

Why it matters.A typical c-store receives 8 to 15 DSD invoices per week. Manual entry burns clerk hours and seeds errors. AI invoice OCR closes the loop in seconds.

A bank-to-bank electronic payment that moves money without checks. ACH is the dominant US flavor for vendor payments; EFT is the back-office term for the same transaction class.

Why it matters.Replacing paper checks with EFT/ACH saves clerk time, cuts fraud, and creates an auditable trail. Standard capability, but confirm the per-transaction cost (StationPro: 0.8% capped at $5).

The reconciliation a clerk runs at the close of each operating day: count the till, confirm tender totals, reconcile cash drops, and submit the record. Back-office systems read the submission to surface variances and feed accounting.

Why it matters.A typical independent station spends 30 to 60 minutes per store on EOD. Compressing that to 5 minutes is the single biggest back-office labor saving.

The pump side of a gas station, where customers fuel up. A forecourt controller coordinates pump authorization, payment, and reporting. Verifone Commander and Gilbarco Passport are the dominant combos.

Why it matters.Most loss events happen at the forecourt (drive-offs, pay-at-pump fraud) but show up inside as EOD cash variance. The back office stitches the two sides.

A cooperative agreement among US states and Canadian provinces that simplifies fuel-tax reporting for motor carriers crossing jurisdictions. Travel centers sell IFTA-qualified diesel and may need to file IFTA-related reports.

Why it matters.If you run a travel center, IFTA reporting touches every diesel transaction. The back office must keep IFTA-eligible volumes separate from other diesel.

The National Association of Convenience Stores, the trade body for the c-store industry. NACS hosts the largest annual conference (NACS Show) and publishes operator benchmarks.

Why it matters.NACS data is the most-cited benchmark for industry comparisons. When you read that industry-average shrinkage is 1.8%, the figure almost always traces to NACS.

The security standard governing how cardholder data is handled. Anyone accepting credit cards has compliance obligations. Most gas stations qualify as SAQ-B or SAQ-C (simpler self-assessments) because card data flows through the POS or processor, not the back office.

Why it matters.StationPro is not in the cardholder-data path. We read transaction-level summaries from the POS, not card numbers, which keeps your PCI scope narrow.

The cash register, hardware, and software at the checkout counter. In c-stores, the POS usually also controls the forecourt: pump authorization, fuel-grade pricing, and shift management.

Why it matters.StationPro is not a POS. We integrate with whatever POS you run (Verifone, Gilbarco, NCR, Toshiba). Swapping POS is expensive and risky; the back office should adapt to it.

The mapping of every SKU sold in the store to its cost, retail price, tax category, and vendor. The pricebook lives in the POS, fed by back-office systems that ingest vendor price changes.

Why it matters.When a distributor raises a unit price and the pricebook does not catch up, you sell at the old margin for weeks. Automation closes that gap.

Inventory loss from theft, waste, miscount, or process error. Reported as a percentage of cost of goods sold. For independent stations, shrinkage runs 1 to 3% across inside-store SKUs.

Why it matters.Most operators treat shrinkage as inevitable. The opportunity is not preventing it, it is attributing it to a shift, an SKU, or a pattern so it becomes a decision.

Fuel that left the tank but did not leave through the dispenser as a recorded sale. Causes include pump miscalibration, BOL discrepancy, leak, and theft. The variance is the gap across BOL, ATG, and POS.

Why it matters.On a 10,000-gallon-per-day station, 0.5% wet-stock loss costs $175 a day, or $63,000 a year at $3.50/gal. Most independents catch it late or never.